Instead of reading about history, some East Junior High eighth graders lived it.
Jeanette Mason's students transformed themselves into the country's Founding Fathers last week during a three-day recreation of the Constitutional Convention. Portraying James Madison, Charles Pickney, Alexander Hamilton and John Rutledge and others, they wrestled and debated, argued, compromised and voted on the foundational principles that established the country's government.
"I learned the challenges that the convention people had to go through,” said Sam Morley, who portrayed James Madison of Virginia. "He was called the Father of the Constitution and I really wanted to be him.”
Mason assigned each student in her classes a historical figure to research and then play during the convention held Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. For three weeks prior to the event, students delved into their subject and created a profile of what that person contributed to the process.
During the actual convention, the students presented their research in the form of resolutions, objections, motions of support or votes. They stood to address the convention each time they spoke, adopting a serious demeanor.
As the days of the convention progressed, the students immersed themselves into their characters, taking the debates as seriously as if they were relevant today. Many shed shyness at public speaking in favor of making their points as the convention wrestled with issues including government structure, slavery, representation, taxation and direct election of the President versus an Electoral College.
"They didn't like to do it at first,” noted Mason. "Anytime you move out of your comfort zone into your thinking zone, it's hard.”
A veteran teacher with the district since 1971, Mason is passionate about history, with special affection for this period. She conceived of the mock Constitutional Convention to engage her students in the happenings 200 years ago. A self-described patriot and protesting radical from the 60s, she guided her students through the same rocky shoals of issues successfully navigated by the Founding Fathers.
"I adore this portion of history,” Mason said.
The discussions about slavery, their fundamental rights and the eventual compromise counted slaves as 3/5ths of a person when determining proportional representation in Congress and the Electoral College — which helped dilute the South's power — were the most difficult part of the exercise for students, Mason said.
"The slavery issues were the hardest for them to get,” she noted.
Mason portrayed George Washington and chaired the event, occasionally calling a time out from history so students could ask questions or clarify procedural points. Students worked from notes they made during research of how their historical figure contributed to the country's founding.
"You have to think a lot on your toes,” said Forest Walters, who portrayed John Rutledge of South Carolina. "It's a lot more fun to do this, too, than to read about it.”
Some found their public voices through the history lesson.
"This kind of makes me want to join the debate team in ninth grade,” said Summer Robinson. "My guy, Abraham Baldwin, kind of changed his mind on every subject so I just tried to pick some things to say.”
For the project, students organized desks into groupings representing the original 13 state delegations, made nametags, donned costumes borrowed from the Old Town Playhouse, wrote with pencils with feathers taped to them and observed strict rules of debate. They knocked on desks in support of a speaker and otherwise mimicked the civil but spirited debates of the era.
"History is one of my favorite subjects,” said Emma Schilkey, who portrayed Charles Pickney of South Carolina. "I've noticed people talking more and really getting into this.”